Welcome to Greece


We arrive in Athens this morning for the first of two days and two ports in Greece. We continue to outwit the weather, bringing bright skies with us wherever we go. But first it’s back to Italy and our visit to Naples.

Saturday, 23 October 2010:  Naples

We have a leisurely morning exploring the heart of Naples on our own, before this afternoon’s tour to the ruins of Herculaneum. We have been to Naples before and know to take extra precautions with our belongings and to avoid busy crowds as much as possible. And just as twenty years ago, Naples is in the midst of a garbage collectors’ strike (déjà vu). There is a collection of historic monuments within easy reach of the pier: The New Fortress, the Piazza Plebescito, the Galleria Umberto II, and the Basilica of San Francisco de Paolo. Add to these, of course, the spectacular view of the bay, the Amalfi Peninsula and Mt Vesuvius. And whatever one thinks of Naples, one has to admire the pizza—so we enjoy our share at an outdoor café near the harbor.  During our wandering, we come upon two weddings, one with a rather harrid-looking bride.

In the afternoon we head for the ruins of Herculaneum, a Roman resort town buried by the eruption of Mt Vesuvius. The site is much smaller than Pompeii, but the ruins are better preserved because the town was buried in the thick mud of the eruption rather than the hot rocks and burning lava that destroyed much of Pompeii. The vivid red and blue wall paintings and mosaics are still as vivid as when they were created. The wooden beams framing the one- and two-story buildings are still in place—more than slightly charred. The entire site gives a realistic impression of life for the leisure classes a very long ago time.

 

Back on the Queen Victoria, before dinner we have drinks at one of the ship’s many bars with the Drakes from New Zealand, a couple celebrating their 30th wedding anniversary and their retirement from a hard life on a dairy farm--we also learn that he is a direct descendent of the famous English explorer. We had met them yesterday during our lunch in the Tuscan hills. The highlights of dinner are salmon rilletes, radicchio and shaved fennel salad, and medallions of beef (for me); lobster bisque and chicken tikhal mahshala with poppadums and riaté sauce (for Will). Dessert for Will is treacle pudding with cream sauce. And I’ve neglected to describe the variety of dessert truffles that are served every night with coffee.